UW gets help, NCAA at-large berth

Twenty-seven seasons after the University of Wisconsin received an at-large berth in the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament despite being eliminated in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, the Badgers reprised that accomplishment.

UW (15-16-7), which was swept in the first round of the WCHA playoffs by St. Cloud State after finishing sixth in the regular season, received an at-large berth Sunday in the 16-team field. The Badgers were seeded third in the Midwest Regional, set to be played Saturday and Sunday at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers face top-seeded Denver (26-13-1), which won the WCHA Final Five, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, both in Denver.

Top-seeded North Dakota (26-10-4) meets fourth-seeded Princeton (21-13-0) in the first semifinal, at 2 p.m.

The regional final is set for 6 p.m. Sunday. The regional champion advances to the Frozen Four, set for April 10 and 12 in Denver.

Six of the top seven WCHA teams received berths in the 16-team NCAA field. The team left out was Minnesota State (19-16-4), which went 2-1-1 against UW this season but lost to Minnesota in three games in the first round of the WCHA playoffs to Minnesota.

According to NCAA records, UW became just the third team with a record of. 500 or worse to qualify for the tournament, which was first held in 1948,

Minnesota qualified for the four-team field in 1971 with a 13-16-2 record. The Gophers beat Harvard in the semifinals before losing to Boston University, 4-2, in the title game.

Colorado College qualified for the six-team field in 1978 with an 18-21-1 record. The Tigers lost to Bowling Green, 5-3, in the opening round.

Harvard qualified for the eight-team field in 1982 with a 13-13-2 record. Harvard lost its opening-round series at UW, 6-1 and 4-3.

How did this UW team, which was swept by St. Cloud State in the WCHA playoffs and is 3-5-2 in its last 10 games, receive an at-large berth?

In short, the Badgers received an inordinate amount of help from other teams in other league playoffs and finished 12th in the PairWise rankings. Those rankings are a valuable tool for the NCAA tournament selection committee.

Twenty-seven seasons ago, the original Backdoor Badgers were stunned by Colorado College in a two-game, total-goal WCHA set.

UW won the first game, 8-2, but suffered an 11-4 loss in the second game, which became known as Black Sunday.

Nevertheless, the Badgers (24-14) received an at-large berth in the eight-team field and went on to win the school's third national title.

UW won a two-game, total-goal set at Clarkson - 3-2 and 6-6 - and then beat Northern Michigan, 5-1, in the semifinals and Minnesota, 6-3, in the title game.

If the Badgers' inclusion in the 2008 field is viewed as controversial, it is fitting that UW opens against Denver given the controversy surrounding the Badgers' 3-2 road loss to the Pioneers on Jan. 11.

In that game, UW's Matthew Ford appeared to score game-tying goal just before the final horn sounded at the end of the third period.

TV replays showed the puck crossed the goal line before the final second ticked off the clock but referee Randy Schmidt disallowed the goal.

Two hours before the teams met the next night, WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod acknowledged Schmidt should have allowed the goal to stand.

UW eventually filed an appeal with the WCHA but the loss stood.

Fueled by Schmidt's erroneous decision in Game 1, the Badgers routed Denver in the second game, 7-2.

Now the Badgers get another shot at the Pioneers and a chance for redemption in the NCAA tournament.